One month post-op PAO!
Hi everyone, just wanted to come on here and share my experience as I just underwent a PAO! I came to this subreddit before my surgery so I could figure out what to expect so I thought I'd do the same for anyone else curious!
I (18yo F) was diagnosed last September to have a hip impingement and many small, serrated labral tears, as well as a few bone spurs on the ball of my hip. I was in pain nearly every day due to a high-impact sport I participate in. In January of this year, I went to St. Louis and left with a date for surgery. Four weeks ago, I went through my procedure! If you're unfamiliar with a periacetabular osteotomy, my surgeon cut my hip socket off of my pelvis and repositioned it, screwing it into place with four large stainless steel screws. He told me my labral tears would scar in and not bother me anymore as they fixed the root problem. I went into surgery around 1PM and woke up around 6PM. I stayed the night in the hospital, completely drugged lol. I'd never even had an IV in before, so it was definitely a new experience. My nurses were all wonderful and very kind. I had to wake up a few times through the night, just taking medicines and vital checks. I got ice cream each time haha. That next morning they gave me a walker and crutches and taught me how to use both, particularly on stairs and getting in and out of cars. They also showed me the best way to use the bathroom, shower, and lay down. Around 11AM I was discharged and my parents drove me home!
The next two weeks were pretty hard, but I was naturally on strong pain medication. I mostly laid in bed and slept about as much as I could. Overall it wasn't too bad, and luckily I'm staying with my parents until I'm fully recovered. Crutches are exhausting and hard to adjust to, but I just got new 4-week xrays taken and have been cleared by my surgeon to start bearing weight on my leg! It's really great to walk again, it hurts a little bit but at this point my crutches are just for support. I'm starting PT in just a couple days to get a lot of the strength back in my leg, so I should be able to drive again within one or two weeks. (I had a right-leg PAO). Overall the experience isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I've been off of pretty much all my medications for two weeks now other than Aspirin and Tylenol. I unfortunately can't return to my sport for a while, but I am super grateful to be recovering so well. I am guessing that I am above the average recovery rate due to my age and wonderful surgeon. Just wanted to share! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!!